Bayern Munich striker Harry Kane won the men's Ballon d'Or at a ceremony in London. He is the first player from a Bundesliga club to take the prize since Matthias Sammer in 1996.
The Ballon d'Or 2026 winner had already collected the award for top men's striker of the year about 45 minutes before the main prize was announced, The Guardian reported on Tuesday. The men's ceremony lasted about three hours.
Kane's victory ends a 30-year drought for German football's top flight. The wider rankings also suggest voters favored club success over World Cup performances. That cost leading players from Arsenal, Manchester City and Real Madrid.
How many goals did Harry Kane score this season?
Kane scored 64 goals in 56 club matches for Bayern. The Guardian called the total "staggering." Bayern won the Bundesliga and reached the semi-finals of the Champions League.
The Guardian also pointed to Kane's growing reputation as a creator of chances. It cited the through balls he plays with increasing ease, and described him as a player who piles up statistics at a time when many top teams rely on tightly structured systems.
His England side beat France in the third-place match at this summer's World Cup.
Kane vs Mbappé: how the Ballon d'Or race was decided
According to The Guardian, the contest came down to Kane and Real Madrid forward Kylian Mbappé. The report did not give Mbappé's exact finishing position.
Mbappé scored 43 goals in 47 games for Real Madrid. His club finished as the second-best team in Spain, and France came fourth at the World Cup.
The Guardian wrote that Kane's role leading a side that won its league and reached a Champions League semi-final likely gave him the final edge.
The outcome also tested the so-called "Bundesliga tax." That is the idea that goals scored in Germany's high-scoring league count for less than goals scored elsewhere. The newspaper said this view had long held back Ballon d'Or candidates from Bayern and other German clubs.
The Guardian added that Robert Lewandowski looked a likely winner in 2020 while playing in Germany. That year organizers canceled the award because of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Ballon d'Or 2026 rankings: club form outweighed the World Cup
Teams that won major trophies with tightly organized squads did not get a top finisher to match. Arsenal won the Premier League and reached the Champions League final, yet none of their players ranked higher than 15th. Paris Saint-Germain were named club of the year, but their best-placed player finished sixth.
Manchester City's Rodri and Erling Haaland both played very well at the World Cup, The Guardian wrote. But City's failure to overcome Arsenal "seemingly dinged" their candidacies.
Real Madrid's difficult campaign also hurt several of its players. Before the ceremony, the award's social media account posted that Jude Bellingham had finished 11th. The Guardian said his club form had outweighed his World Cup performances.
Placings reported by The Guardian include:
- Rodri (Manchester City): 4th
- Khvicha Kvaratskhelia (Paris Saint-Germain): 6th
- Erling Haaland (Manchester City): 8th
- Michael Olise (Bayern Munich): 9th
- Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid): 11th
- Declan Rice (Arsenal): 15th
- Luis Díaz (Bayern Munich): 24th
- Dayot Upamecano (Bayern Munich): 26th
A year earlier, Ousmane Dembélé won the award ahead of Real Madrid's Vinícius Júnior. Real Madrid complained about that result, a move that drew criticism.
Which Bayern Munich players were nominated for the Ballon d'Or?
Bayern had four players on the shortlist. Besides Kane, they were Michael Olise, Luis Díaz and Dayot Upamecano. According to The Guardian, all three attended the ceremony even though it was clear they would not win.
In recent weeks, Bayern's and the Bundesliga's social media accounts had promoted Kane's case for the award, The Guardian reported.
Bayern play in the Bundesliga, Germany's top division. Before Kane, the last player from the league to win the Ballon d'Or was Sammer in 1996.
Since then, Spain's La Liga has produced 17 winners, counting the club that employed each winner for most of that year. Serie A has produced five, the Premier League three and Ligue 1 two, according to The Guardian's count. The newspaper noted that Lionel Messi technically won his eighth and final award as an Inter Miami player.
The Guardian's report did not give the full top-three order or any details of the women's Ballon d'Or. It is not yet clear whether Kane's win will change how future voters view goals scored in the Bundesliga.